


When You Need Directions, I'll Be the Guide

by sambethe



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Captain Book, F/M, Friends With Benefits, Road Trips, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-13
Updated: 2017-03-13
Packaged: 2018-10-03 22:52:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10260656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sambethe/pseuds/sambethe
Summary: Not all relationships are The One, which doesn't make them any less important. And, sometimes, that is exactly what's needed.AKA, smutty Captain Book road trip adventures.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lenfaz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lenfaz/gifts).



> For @lenfaz, who asked for a smutty re-work of Spinning Wheels and Feet That Run (but They Come Back Home). This fic is as much her baby as mine. The first scenes that were written were born out photo prompts she sent along with an outline of one of the scenes. And I'm so glad it finally gets to see the light of day.
> 
> Thanks go to @tnlph for the beta and reassurance.

“Is that the last of it?”

Killian nodded and flung the last of his bags in the trunk. “Appears so. Your satchel was by the front door, so I placed that in the front seat.” He turned to where Belle was leaning against the back door of the car, staring back up at their now emptied flat. “You ready?”

A slow smile spread across her lips, but she kept her eyes trained on the building. “I was about to ask you the same thing. You still sure about this? Boston’s not San Diego.”

He closed the trunk and settled next to her, slinging his arm across her shoulder. “That’s probably a question we should have asked last week when I sent everything off in that shipping container. Or maybe when I quit my job.”

She laughed and leaned her head on his shoulder. “Very true.”

“Are you nervous?” he asked, rubbing his thumb at her shoulder.

 “A little. Got my teaching assistant assignment today. Made it seem more real.”

“You’re going to be brilliant. The students will be lucky to have you.” He pressed a kiss to her temple and reached into his pocket to fish out his car keys. “Want to drive?”

She reached out to grab at the keys he dangled in front of her, but he pulled them back at the last moment. “Killian,” she whined and he smirked at the small, impatient hop she gave. “No fair offering if you don’t mean it.”

Killian’s smirk morphed into a full grin, but he still tossed her the keys. “Be kind. I’ve only just had her tuned up.”

*

Their ride into Arizona and then onto New Mexico was mostly uneventful. They sang along to one of the playlists Belle constructed, and Killian regaled her with the highlights of the shouting match with Anna when he told he’d quit his job and planned to follow Belle out to Boston.

“It’s not as if we had the sort of relationship that leant itself to deep conversation.”

Belle snorted. “Are you implying she was only interested in your dick?”

“She wouldn’t be the first, as you very well know,” he said with a waggle of his eyebrow.

She punched his arm before turning her attention back to the road.

They stopped for lunch at a small roadside diner where Belle played him the message her ex, Robert, left a few days prior. He minced no words, stating outright she owed him her position in her grad program and would regret leaving him and the position he had extended at Berkeley.

“It’s not true,” he muttered, stabbing his fork at a fry on her plate. “You’ve earned every last accolade you received on your interview.”

She curled her hand around his on the fork and squeezed. “Thanks.”

Sunset arrived late and they stopped at a small motel across the border into Utah. He dropped her by the front door, leaving her to book a room while he parked the car and pulled out their bags. The room that greeted them was passably clean and contained two double beds. Belle immediately flopped down on the one closest to the door.  

“You can take the first shower,” she said with a wave towards the far door.

When he stepped out of the bathroom, dressed in his sleep pants and toweling off his hair, he found Belle lounging in the bed she’d left open for him earlier. She had shoved down the comforter but was still on top of the sheets, her knees drawn up and her head flat on the mattress with a book open above her. She’d stripped down to her loose, white button up and underwear.

Killian leaned back against the doorway and ran his hand through his damp hair and watched as she turned a page. “I thought that was my bed?”

She grinned and dropped the book to the bed, rolling to her side to face him. His eye fell to where the swell of her breast peeked from beneath the open placket of her shirt.

“Thought you might not mind the company.”

He raised an eyebrow at her and tossed the damp towel through the open door to the bathroom floor. He made his way to the bed, sitting down next to her and reaching out to run his hand along her hip. He fingered along the lace at the waist of her underwear, giving a small smile at the fact she was wearing a pair she knew he was particularly fond of.

Belle reached out and looped a finger through the hair at his chest. “As I see it, we’re sort of on vacation.” That same finger traced up his chest and ran along his collarbone. “And it’s been a while since we have and I thought you might…”

Killian closed his eyes as she trailed off, his brain helpfully supplying the memory of the last time they were together, both of them drunk off tequila, huddled in a closet-sized bathroom at one of her friends’ parties. She had been on her knees before him, lips wrapped tightly around his cock. He reopened his eyes and nudged at her hip, encouraging her to lay back down on her back. “It’s not like either of us is seeing anyone, apparently,” he offered.

“Exactly,” she sighed as his hand moved across her belly, his fingers slipping open the bottom-most button of her shirt. He slid to lie next to her, his head at her stomach, and leaned to kiss along the skin he exposed as he opened two more buttons. He nosed along the rounded part of her stomach, pulling a breathy laugh from her as he did.

He pulled back and slipped his hand beneath her shirt. “Is there anything in particular you’d like?” He swept his fingers just below her breasts, his thumb circling the next button.

“You’re on the right track.”

Killian hummed and popped the last two buttons, pushing both sides of her shirt open to expose her to him. He traced between her breasts, brushing the backs of his knuckles along the top curves before moving to cup one. “Like this?” he teased, sweeping his thumb around her nipple to draw it tight.

She moaned and he skimmed across her nipple again, rolling and pulling it between his thumb and index finger, watching as her breath hitched. He leaned in, bringing his mouth to her other breast, and breathed out against her skin. “Or how about this?” He dragged his tongue up the side of her breast, circling her nipple before drawing it between his lips and sucking tight.

She gave a breathy cry and then said, “You could aim lower.” She gave a roll of her hips in emphasis and he smirked and kissed a trail the side of her ribs. When he reached the edge of her underwear, he nosed at the lace band. “Closer?” he asked, before biting at the soft skin above her hip.

Belle carded her fingers through his hair and tugged before pressing him towards the center of her thighs.

“Ohhh, is that where you want me?” he drawled, dragging a finger down her opposite side, trailing it over her underwear. He left a string of kisses below her belly, dragging his tongue as he did, not letting his finger dip too low as it drew nonsense loops over the lace.

“Killian,” she whined. He grinned and nipped at the skin just above her waistband.

He dipped his fingers beneath the fabric, inching them down to drag along her clit. “Don’t worry, love.” He curved his fingers, circling, before pulling back. “I think I know just what to do here.”

Belle huffed out a laugh that ended in a moan when he pressed back down, circling his finger at her clit before moving further to slide between her folds. “See?” he teased when he pulled back again, patting at her hip and curling his fingers around her waistband. He sat up and she lifted her hips, allowing him to draw them down her legs and toss them to the side. He ran his hands back up her legs, pausing at her knees and pressing on one to encourage her to open to him.

“That’s it.” He smiled, watching as she dropped that knee to the side. He left one hand on her still raised knee and moved to sit between her legs. He reached up when he was settled, tracing his fingers down her breastbone, to her belly, and down through her curls. He watched her chest hitch when he once again reached her clit, but he skimmed to the side and had to bite back a grin at her frustrated sigh.

He teased at the skin at the crease of her thigh, tracing down “You so fucking gorgeous like this.” He slid his hand from her knee down to her core, teasing open her folds. “Did that fool know how –”

“Doesn’t that mouth have something else it could be doing?”

Killian laughed and then bit at his lower lip and looked up at her as he gave a solemn nod. He bent his head to follow his hand, ghosting his lips down her thigh until he reached her mound. He moved to her center, wrapping his lips around her clit as he slid two fingers within her. The groan she gave as he curled his fingers, dragging them back out before pressing back in, had him drawing his tongue flat against her, wanting to pull another from her lips. He continued, licking and kissing, curling his tongue around her as his fingers dragged in a steady rhythm against her walls. When her thigh began to shake, he held tight to her hip with one hand while curving his fingers within her as he knew she liked. He was rewarded with a curse and a moan of his name. He smirked against her skin and then swirled his tongue around her clit again before pressing flat against it as she came. He continued to stroke his fingers, slowing in time with her breaths, until her thighs relaxed and her hand returned to his hair.

He placed a kiss to her thigh as he withdrew his hand. “Fuck,” he breathed, flopping down on the bed next to her.

“Yeah.” She reached over, her hand scratching at the hair around his belly button. “Not worn out already, are you?”

A slow smile spread over his face as he stretched his arms above his head, giving an encouraging roll of his hips as her hand wandered lower. “I was hoping that might just be the –”

“Stop talking, Jones.”

*

They should have gone to bed hours ago, but sex had turned into ordering pizza and a picnic in bed, which had turned into another round of sex, all of which finally led to them curled up watching old episodes of Law and Order. Belle’s love of the show would never not make him laugh. After spending days with her nose buried in thick tomes of French philosophy, or the latest Ian McEwan, or working through _Effi Briest_ in German, he always knew he could find her at home, buried chin deep in blankets on the couch, the familiar musical notes clanging on the screen before her.

And he’d be happy to continue to indulge her with all the vapid crime procedurals if it kept that small, satisfied grin on her face. Besides, it left him free to explore the warm skin beneath his hand awhile longer. He smiled and pressed a kiss to her shoulder as he slid his hand along her stomach. She hummed and slowly shifted back against him.

“Oh, lass,” he whispered, “I think I’m going to need to sleep before we go another round.”

Belle laughed. “Don’t think I could, even if I wanted to. How late is it?”

“Late. We should have gone to bed hours ago if we wanted to get an early start.”

She hummed again and grabbed his hand, laying it on the mattress in front of her and running her fingertips over the back. “How is it that we are so good at this but so terrible at dating?”

Killian laughed and slipped his hand from her to drag his fingers at the base of her breastbone. “Who said I was terrible at dating?”

Belle snorted and turned to face him. He reached out and pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear.

“Killian, honey, you are many things – and I don’t doubt that you are an incredibly charming date – but when’s the last time you saw anyone for more than two months at a time?”

He started to object, despite knowing she was right, but the withering stare she leveled at him kept him silent.

“Do not even try to offer up Anna as evidence.”

He ran the back of his fingers up the side of her rib cage and along the curve of her breast before snaking up and along her clavicle. “Eighteen months must count for something.”

“I’m not sure fucking between arguments for weeks at a time and then not speaking for months in between qualifies as dating.”

He grinned at her. “Fair point, but how is this different?” he asked, tracing along her neck.

“Don’t be thick,” she replied with a roll of her eyes. “This –” She tapped the back of a finger against his chest. “This has never been even an attempt at dating and you know it. Plus, when’s the last time we’ve gone for more than a day without talking?”

He smiled and rubbed his nose along hers before pulling back and reaching for the comforter they’d shoved to the end of the bed. He pulled it over their shoulders and settled back beside her, his hand at her waist.

“Well, you, at least, must be halfway decent at it.”

She gave a small, self-deprecating laugh that left Killian wishing he had a cure for it.

“I guess a few of them haven’t been all bad,” she said after a moment. “But I’d hardly call whatever it was my parents hoped for Gaston and I healthy and we’ll not even get into the mess that Robert was.”

Killian rubbed his thumb at her waist and leaned in to brush a brief kiss across her forehead. “It’s no matter, Belle. Boston’s a fresh start. For us both.”

“Yeah,” she whispered, settling her head at his chest and pressing her knee between his legs.

*

As he expected, they got a later start than planned but Killian could hardly complain when Belle emerged from the motel room dressed in cowboy boots and a loose, floral sundress. She had opened a button at the top of its low neckline and the hem rode dangerously close to her ass as she bent to toss her bag into the trunk.

“Trying to kill a man?” he asked against her ear as he crowded in behind her once she closed the trunk. He grasped at the hem of the dress and rucked it up while dragging his hand along her thigh.

“Trying not to die of heat exhaustion,” she teased, throwing her arm up and behind his head as she arched into him.

His free arm circled her waist, pulling her tight. “The car does have air conditioning.” He dropped a line of kisses to her neck. “Sure you won’t be cold?”

She laughed and tugged on a lock of his hair. “Quit your whining.”

He growled and nipped at her earlobe before letting her go. “Oh, love, I’m not complaining in the least.”

They had hit about hour two of their drive when Belle finally kicked off her boots and rustled through her bag, pulling out a slim, hard-bound book. Killian smiled, the light blue fabric of the cover giving it away as one from her Shakespeare set.

“Which one?” he asked, reaching down to lower the volume on the radio as she propped her bare feet on the dash. His eye caught on how, with her legs stretched before her, her dress pooled at the top of her thighs. He settled his hand just above her knee, rather than returning it to the steering wheel, as she flipped through a few pages.

“The Tempest.”

Killian hummed, turning his attention back to the empty road before them but letting his thumb sweep occasionally along the side of her knee. Silence stretched between them as Belle continued to read and his hand drifted up her thigh. He would pause every so often, curling his hand so his fingers could drag along the skin of her inner thigh before he returned his hand to her knee and began the whole progression again.

He grinned when on the fourth or fifth time, she gave a soft moan. It was a breathy little thing that could almost be mistaken for her humming at something of interest in her book if it weren’t for the way her knee bent, widening her legs a bit more. He curved his hand at the top of her thigh, the side of his pinky pressing at the cotton of her underwear while he extended his index finger to rub the back of it at the soft skin of her opposite thigh. Belle hummed again, shifting to encourage him to move but he left his hand where it was and tried to keep his attention forward despite the swell of his cock against his fly.

He started another sweep once he heard Belle turn another couple of pages, but when he reached her knee he didn’t pause this time. Instead he circled the tips of his fingers around her knee before drawing his hand back up her thigh and curling a couple fingers to slip beneath the fabric of her underwear. Killian heard Belle’s sharp exhale of breath and he pulled back, returning his hand to her knee. 

“Read,” he said with a tip of his chin towards the book she held open against her other knee.

“I’m trying.”

He could see the slight pout of her lower lip from the corner of his eye and he had to bite back a laugh. He was about to repeat his instruction when he felt her shift forward, dropping her book to rest face down on her leg as she lifted her hips and peeled off her underwear. And then it was his turn to moan when she tossed them onto the dashboard in front of him and settled back down with her book.

“Really?” he asked, lifting his eyebrow but keeping his eyes on the road.

Belle laughed and turned back to her book, turning the page with a pointed rustle.

Killian returned to the slow drag of his fingers up her thigh, each sweep a little further towards her core, his fingers eventually stretching to ghost at the crease of her thigh and then the skin just to the side of her folds. He could hear her sigh and moan each time he neared, and when he finally slid one finger through her folds he found her warm and wet to his touch. He struggled not to pull over and drag her across the console to his lap. Instead he breathed deep and returned his hand to her knee.

The road continued to roll past, the reds and browns of the desert landscape blurring together, and his hand continued to drift. He dragged the back of his knuckles along the top of her thigh, pressed his fingers into the curve of her inner thigh, and again slipped them between her folds, only to pull back each time she arched into his touch. He’d begin the wandering circuit again, listening to her stuttered breaths and itching to press his palm into his erection, if only to relieve the built-up tension for a moment.

When he finally paused, his fingers resting at her entrance, he felt her clit pulse against the heel of his palm. He had to bite down on his lower lip to keep his focus. When he steadied himself, almost sure he wouldn’t come in his pants while driving down a two-lane road in New Mexico, he stole a glance at Belle only to find her with her head tipped back against the headrest, her right hand gripped around the book that laid forgotten at her side, while her left hand was slipping open the remaining buttons at the top of her dress. Grateful for the lack of any accompanying traffic, Killian closed his eyes a moment, breathing out through his nose before blinking and attempting to focus on the road once again.

But in his periphery, he could see her tracing her hand between her breasts, could hear her breath quicken, could tell the moment she must have drawn her own nipple between her fingers and pinched by the choked cry she gave. Killian pushed his shoulders back into his own seat, his left hand gripping the steering wheel tighter before he dipped his fingers within her. He held there a moment, enjoying how her thighs tensed, and then pulled back and up to her clit, drawing it between his fingers as best he could given the angle. He drew his fingers along the swollen skin and had to pull to the side of the road when she cried out, her thighs drawing tight against his hand.

She recovered quickly, bending down to rout around in her bag again, and he barely had time to shift the car into park before she was climbing over the console and straddling his lap. 

She tugged at his belt, slipping the end through the buckle and making quick work of his zipper. “I hate you.”

“No, you don’t,” he said against the swell of her breast. “You enjoyed every part of that. You wouldn’t have allowed me between your thighs for that long if you hadn’t.” He lifted his hips and helped her shove his jeans out of the way.

She gripped him and tore at the condom wrapper with her teeth. “Fuck, Belle,” he whimpered as she drew the condom down his length. She leaned forward, resting a forearm on the seat behind him and guiding him to her. He thrust up and groaned as she rolled her hips with him, sliding down and seating him fully within her. She clenched around him and he slipped his arms underneath hers, bringing his hands up and around to clamp down on her shoulders, using the leverage to hold her to him as he thrust again.

Her walls clenched again and he groaned. “Exactly like that,” he said thrusting again, pushing as deep as he could given the confines of their position. When she contracted around him again, pulling him deeper, he gripped her harder and rolled his hips, coming with a hoarse shout.

After a few moments, Belle shifted. “Killian?”

He hummed, nuzzling his nose into her neck, but taking the hint he moved his hand to hold the base of the condom as she slipped off of him and back to her seat.

“Just where are we?” she asked between panting breaths.

Killian turned to see her peering forward to look out the front windshield. He laughed as she shimmied and straightened her dress. He then took a deep breath and slipped off the condom, tucking himself back into his jeans before looking for an empty coffee cup to dispose it in.

“Last sign I remember seeing was for Moriarty, so we’re somewhere east of there. I hope.”

 She snorted.

“I’m not the one who threw my underwear on the dashboard, love.” He leaned forward and picked up said lingerie, depositing them into her lap. “Can’t blame a man for being a little distracted.”

Belle arched an eyebrow. “That’s rich, coming from the man who started this whole thing.” She waved her hand between them. “I was just reading my book.”

Killian grinned and grabbed her hand, pulling it to his mouth and placing a kiss to the back of it. “Your legs are quite fetching.”

She let go of his hand and smacked at his shoulder before leaning forward to pull her phone from one of the cup holders. “Why don’t you just drive, Casanova? I’ll see if I can get this map to tell us anything.”

*

It was late by the time they reached the border of Oklahoma and later still when they finally stopped outside of Oklahoma City. Belle didn’t bother with the pretense of a second bed when booking the room for the night, a fact that would have made Killian smirk if he weren’t already so exhausted.

He stripped off his clothes and fell into bed as she made for the shower. He could hear the faint ring of a phone over the sound of the shower as he drifted off, but didn’t think much of it until after Belle crawled into bed. She curled into him, her back to his chest, and drew his arm over her waist. He hummed and slipped his hand beneath her camisole, rubbing at the soft skin of her belly as he faded back to sleep. It was only when he heard her sniffle that he realized something was wrong.

Killian tried to shift, to bring her around to face him, but she shook her head and pulled the blanket over both of them.

“You up for driving straight through to Nashville tomorrow and spending an extra night there?” she asked, her voice thick.

He clenched his hand for a moment and then breathed out and laid his hand back flat against her stomach. It took him another moment to pick back up his rhythm of slow, steady caresses.

“Whatever you need, love. I’ve got no timetable.”

“I could use a day off driving. And maybe a drink.”

He nosed the end of her ponytail out of the way and placed a kiss to the back of her neck. “I’ll buy,” he whispered. “As many as you like.”

*

Belle was still quiet come morning and Killian passed her the keys to the car as they finished their breakfast.

“You drive,” he said, enjoying the smile that quirked at the corner of her mouth.

She twirled as they walked through the parking lot and he grinned while watching her hair and her dress swing around her as she did. He played DJ for her through the first leg of the drive, following whatever whim she requested as they made their way to the Arkansas border. Killian knew it wasn’t a fix to her underlying problem, but still relished in her carefree manner as she sang along to the radio.

They stopped for lunch and he didn’t want to interrupt the smile Belle had on her face since the he gave her the car keys, so he asked after her new roommate. He tried to ignore the twinge in his own gut at the idea that they wouldn’t be living together for the first time in four years.

“I don’t know much. She’s a friend of someone I knew in high school. Supposedly keeps odd hours because of work, but is pretty quiet.” She looked up from her plate and smiled at him as she stole a fry from his plate. “She won’t be Killian Jones, but I have a good feeling about her.”

He grinned back. “Got a picture?”

Belle furrowed her brow and pointed the end of her pilfered fry at him. “No.”

He took a bite of his sandwich and cocked his head.

“Even if I did, Jones. The roommate’s off limits.”

“Oi!” he protested after he swallowed. “Simple, idle curiosity here. I know when to keep it in my pants.”

She pursed her lips and gave him a hard look.

“All right, _usually_. Usually I know when to keep it in my pants.”

*

Downtown Nashville appeared bright and still full of people, despite the late hour they arrived. Killian was sorely tempted to take Belle out for that drink immediately, but one look at how her feet dragged as they dropped their bags on the hotel floor had him instead prodding her into bed. She pouted but he handed her the tv remote and she landed on yet another Law & Order episode while he pulled off his t-shirt and unbuttoned his jeans before he fell in beside her.

He could feel himself nodding off when Belle shifted to rest her head on his chest, her fingers scratching at the hair below his navel. He hummed and opened an eye, glancing down to find her still focused on the television. He smiled and placed a kiss to her head, and let himself drift back to the edge of sleep as she continued to run her hand along his belly.

He hadn’t meant to fall asleep half-dressed, but when he woke next sunlight was pouring from the edges of the curtains and he could hear Belle singing quietly to herself in the bathroom. When she re-entered the room and found him awake, she smiled. He smiled back as he watched her drop the towel she was wearing and cross to where her suitcase laid open on the floor.

Killian ran his hand down his chest, shoving aside the sheet still covering him and pushing his hand into his open jeans. He started to palm himself as Belle tossed some clothes to the end of the bed. He watched her crouch down, biting his lip to stop the groan that came at the sight of her ass as she stood again. 

“Come here,” he asked as he pressed further into his hardening erection.  

“Something you need?” she asked as she kneeled on the edge of the bed. She shimmied forward and sat back on her heels as he began to rub his thumb at where the head of his cock pushed against the waist of his boxer briefs.

He lifted his hips and she took the hint, pulling his jeans down his legs and to the floor. He pushed the briefs down and she stripped those off as well. He settled back down on the bed, pulling another pillow behind his head as he wrapped his hand around himself. He watched her watch him as he began a slow slide along his length.

She moved to sit between his legs. “Did you want help?” she asked as she dropped her hands to his knees, leaning in as she drew her hands upwards, stopping when her thumbs reached the skin at the base of his cock.

He shook his head and continued with a languid twist of his wrist before stroking back up to his head. “Touch yourself.”

Belle bit her lip and nodded, moving to straddle his legs just below where his hand worked. She spread her legs open, her knees resting at the side of his legs as she sat back on her heels, her hand sliding through her curls. He groaned and tightened his grip on himself as her fingers worked between her folds and she gave a breathy sigh. He struggled to keep his movements slow and controlled as she used one hand to open herself to his view and the other circled at the hood of her clit.

She began to rock, her eyes falling closed as her hand slipped lower, her fingers sliding to her entrance and pushing inside. He listened to how her breaths shallowed as she drew her hand back, rolling her clit between her fingers. He became mesmerized by the rise and fall of her breasts, and struggled to control his own breathing when her movements quickened and she began to chant his name. He had to pinch at the base of his cock to keep from coming when she cried out, her one hand stilling as the other reached back and gripped his knee.

Killian started to drag his hand back along his cock when her hand nudged at his, her fingers wrapping around him and gently pushing his out of the way. Her thumb slid along his head, and his attention caught on the sight of himself pressing between her tight fist. He only slowed the rolling of his hips when she loosened her hold and he heard the rip of a condom wrapper being opened. He looked up as she tossed the wrapper aside and dropped the condom to his stomach, letting go of him in order pick it up and roll it down his length.

He groaned as she gripped the base of his cock and shifted forward, sliding one hand to his shoulder as she slowly sank herself on him. He settled one hand at the top of her thigh, his other reaching up to knead her breast as she sought out a rhythm. He cupped the soft skin, enjoying the way the weight of it moved beneath his palm, the feel of her nipple hardening against the sweep of his thumb.

Belle arched forward with a moan, and he brought his other hand up, tracing the undersides of both of her breasts before pulling her nipples between his fingers and pinching down. He smirked as her movements faltered and she tipped her head back and cried out.

“That’s it,” he teased, giving a thrust of his hips, pushing himself further into her as he pinched harder, drawing out yet another cry. He let go, taking a moment to admire the deep red rue the tips of her breasts had taken on, before he dropped his hands to her hips, using the leverage to deepen his thrusts. Belle leaned lean back as she rolled her hips in return.

She bent further, squeezing around him as she did, muttering nonsense about how good he felt like this, how deep she wanted him. He cursed out his agreement as she moved her hands behind herself and rested them on his knees, using the shift in angles to circle her hips and deepen her thrusts. He tightened the grip of one of his hands, picking up his pace as he pressed the thumb of his other towards where they were joined. He circled her clit, hoping to bring her with him as he felt his own orgasm build in the base of his spine. Belle cried out as he brushed at the swollen skin and he could feel her walls ripple around him when he increased the pressure of his touch. When her fingers joined his thumb, he smiled and turned his focus to deepening his strokes, pressing in as deep as he could, chasing the pleasure pooling low in his belly.

The groan he gave when he finally came was broken and stuttered, matching the pounding pulse of his orgasm as it rippled through his body. Killian closed his eyes as it began to fade, allowing the tingling along his spine to continue as he listened to Belle’s own cries as she joined him. He held tight to her hips as she shuddered and then fell forward, dropping her head to his chest.

He hummed and nosed at her tangled and still damp hair. “Can we stay here for the rest of the day?” he asked into the top of her head.

She laughed before rising off him and rolling to his side. Once she landed, she dropped her head against his shoulder and slung her arm across his stomach. “But there are Bloody Marys outside.”

He grinned and kissed her temple. “True.”

“Go shower.” She nudged his shoulder.

“In a minute,” he mumbled, drawing the blanket up, wanting to enjoy the fading waves of his orgasm a few more moments.

It took some more prodding, but Belle eventually managed to get him up and into the shower. He tried to tempt her into joining him, but she shot him a warning glare before she slipped back out into the room.

She delivered on the promised Bloody Mary at their first stop, and they spent the rest of their morning and afternoon wandering town, window shopping and making the occasional stop for another drink. They were tipsy by mid-day and Killian laughed when she pressed him into a doorway and wrapped herself around him.

“Feeling better?” he asked when they came up for air. She hummed and he brushed his lips at the side of her mouth before sliding back over hers again.

They split off at one point, Killian wanting to spend more time flipping through stacks of vinyl at a record shop. Belle laughed and squeezed his arm as she slipped past him in the narrow aisle.

“Meet you in an hour at the bar on the corner?”

He nodded and waved absently as he pulled a record from the bin, his eyes scanning over the back cover. He didn’t have to turn to her to know she was rolling her eyes as she pushed open the door of the shop.

When he found her at the bar, Belle had a mostly empty glass in front of her and a frown on her face as she poked at her phone. The bartender was sliding her another glass as Killian sat on the stool next to her and raised an eyebrow at him in question.

“Bourbon, neat,” he answered and turned to Belle. “All right there, love?”

“Another voicemail from Robert,” she replied with a sigh and picked up the nearly empty glass, finishing off its contents. “I don’t know what I’m going to do if he continues once we’re settled in Boston.”

“Blocking his number would be a start,” he muttered, nodding to the bartender as she dropped off his order.

She shook her head. “You’re right. I don’t know why I haven’t.”

“You could give it to me and I’ll do it.” He held his hand out and watched her hesitate before shaking her head again.

“Not just yet. I don’t think he’d seriously do anything to wreck my career, but at least I might have an early warning if he does plan to do something.”

“I still think you should have told –”

She waved him off and picked up her glass, nodding for him to do the same. “I don’t want to argue about it. It’s done. He’ll move on. Let’s toast.”

Killian picked up his glass. “Aye. Here’s to two thousand miles down and another 1000 to go. And to all that might await there.”

“For all that awaits,” she echoed.

*

Belle seemed determined to ignore everything as she ordered another round, and Killian was just as determined to aide her in the endeavor. By the time they returned to the hotel that night, they were barely managing to hold one another upright and steady, and both collapsed into their bed fully clothed.

“One of us should grab some water,” he muttered, winding his arm around her and pulling her close.

“Uh huh,” she replied, but neither made to move.

Killian woke before she did come morning with both a dry mouth and a splitting headache. He slipped from the bed to pull the curtains shut and go out in search of coffee and ibuprofen.

Belle was still sleeping when he returned. He dropped her coffee cup on the table beside her and tucked in the blankets around her before stripping out of yesterday’s clothes and making his way shower. The steady, hot stream of water was welcome against the tight ache in his neck and shoulders. He groaned as he stood beneath it, willing his muscles to relax and unknot from both the drinking and the hours on the road.

When he finally left the bathroom, Belle was still in bed but she was watching from beneath one barely cracked eyelid.

“How are you feeling?”

She groaned and shifted to her back, running her head across her forehead.

“There’s coffee.” He tipped his chin to the bedside table and watched a smile quirk at the corner of her mouth.

By the time he was dressed, Belle had sat up and was cradling the paper cup between her hands, her nose hovering over the steam rising from it. Killian sat down next to her, offering some ibuprofen, which she took and swallowed before returning her attention to the cup between her hands.

“Can we get pancakes?” she asked after a few minutes, half her coffee drained and her eyes seeming brighter.

“Anything you like, love.”

She smiled and swung her legs over the side of the bed. “Give me twenty minutes to get dressed? Then we can pack and hit the road?”

Belle was quiet through breakfast and most of the morning drive. Killian let her focus on maintaining the morning’s playlist and left her to her thoughts as his own drifted to the house and the brother that awaited him in Boston.

He hadn’t been back since he left to finish out university in San Diego. It wasn’t something he had intended, but Liam had let him get away with it, using excuses of weather and the want of seeing the Pacific as a means of indulging Killian in his avoidance of returning home. And Killian loved him for it, even if he knew they both allowed it to go on too long, that he had delayed returning and facing everything he’d lost.

A fresh start was what he promised Belle the first night of their trip, and he meant it, even if it was a homecoming of sorts for him.

“What do you think you are looking for?”

They were sitting in a diner in Virginia, Killian lost in thought with his sandwich while Belle poked at her food.

Killian glanced up to find her focused intently on him, her eyes scanning his face as he tried to determine where her question was coming from. “Pardon?”

Belle shrugged and looked back at her salad. “From your next relationship? What do you think you want?”

He shifted in his seat. “Who says I want one?”

She frowned at him and the wrinkle of her brow had him regretting blowing off her question.

“Honestly?” he asked and she nodded. “Where’s this coming from?”

She shrugged again and he hated how small she looked as she made the gesture. “Even after everything that happened with Robert, I’m trying to imagine life and grad school without him. And I can’t. He’s been so much a part of who I thought I was these last few years that I don’t even know how to imagine a relationship that doesn’t look like the one we had. And I know that’s fucked up.”

“Belle,” he whispered and reached across the table to wrap his hand around hers.

She shook her head and continued, “I know what you lost when you lost Milah was completely different. I’m not trying to compare, but I’m hoping if you can tell me what it is you can see when think about it. That maybe it will help me see what I am looking for.”

Killian sighed and took a bite of his sandwich, using the time to gather his thoughts and keep his own voice from breaking when he finally spoke.

“Whoever she is, she’s going to have this spark, that much I know.” Killian could feel a wistful smile creep at the edge of his mouth despite himself. Belle shifted the hand of hers he held, threading their fingers together and squeezing to encourage him to continue. “She’s going to be the type of woman who takes no shit, especially mine, but at the same time will also get it.”

Belle raised her eyebrows and gave him a smile. “That’s a tall order.”

“Indeed. But in return she’s going to be a host of contradictions, and I’m going to love her for it as much as I’ll be frustrated by it.”

“You know,” Belle teased, “most people would just tell me something simple – the color of her eyes, her sweet disposition. Leave it to you to give me the complicated.”

Killian laughed. “When have you ever known me to be simple?”

*

They stopped for the night somewhere after crossing the border into Maryland, finding a small chain motel to throw their things in for the night before setting out to once again feed themselves pizza and plan out the route for their final leg into Boston.

As they came up on the city limits the next evening, Belle pulled her phone from one of her bags, glancing at the clock before opening up the map to get the route to her apartment.

“What time is Liam expecting you?”

Killian shook his head as he pulled off the highway. “He’s not. He’s out on a charter to North Carolina. Not due back until next week.”

She hummed but turned her attention to the view out the passenger side window. “The shipping container is not due until tomorrow. Think he’d mind if I crashed with you tonight, seeing as I’m still lacking a bed?”

He reached out and squeezed her thigh. “You know he wouldn’t. He likes you better than me anyway. The spare room is yours, always. You know we’d have been glad to have you move in.”

He could see her smile in the window’s reflection. “I know.” She fell quiet and Killian let her. They’d discussed this all before. He knew her reasons for wanting to strike out on her own, but it didn’t mean he wouldn’t miss having his friend just down the hall.

As they neared her new apartment, Belle rattled off the last of the directions. The twisted, narrow streets and roundabouts brought back memories and he felt a sudden pang for San Diego’s wide roads and brightly colored houses.

“It’s that one,” she said, pointing out a two-story, brick building as they finally made the last turn. Both floors had a porch than ran the length of the front, the upper one lit with a few strands of dim, flickering lights in the fading light of dusk. “Emma said to park in the driveway.”

“Emma?”

“The roommate.”

“Ahh, so the mystery lass has a name.” He grinned as he threw the car in park and unlocked the doors.

Belle stuck out her tongue and grabbed her bag. “Just because I didn’t give you her Instagram profile…” He laughed and she nodded towards the trunk. “Will you get the bags? I’ll go see if I can get my keys.”

Killian fished Belle’s bags out of the mess that had become of the trunk in the last week. Shouldering the largest, he waited, leaning against the hood of the car for her to return. When she flew out the side door of the building, waving at him to go up but chattering away on her phone, he smiled. He had no idea who she could be talking to, but he was happy to see her laughing and giddy, especially after her sullenness since they left Nashville.

He poked his way into the door and started up the stairwell, only to be brought up short by a woman leaning against the rail of the first landing. She was dressed in a fraying pair of capri length sweats and a loose t-shirt, the decal ironed to the front long since faded and peeling. Her blond hair was piled in messy bun on top of her head and thick, black-rimmed glasses perched at the end of her nose as she stared at her phone. She looked like she’d just rolled out of bed, or off the couch from an hours long television binge-watch, and she was stunning. He was going to curse whatever god was needed if she was Belle’s roommate.

He tried to take a step forward, to push himself to move, but misjudged the height of the step and stubbed his toe on the lip of the stair. He caught himself before he fell or dropped any of Belle’s things, but not without a large grunt on his part.

The woman looked up and took a step back as he righted himself and tried to take the next few steps without mishap.

“Hey?” she offered as he stepped onto the landing with her. “Can I help you?”

He shook his head. “Just helping my friend with her things.”

“Ah, you must be Killian.”

He would have smiled at the fact that she already knew his name, maybe teased her a bit, but her attention was already turned back to her phone, her thumb swiping along the screen. He gave a small nod instead and turned to take the next flight of stairs, biting back a sigh he knew wasn’t warranted.

“Oh, by the way,” she called as he reached the top. “I’m Emma.”

Killian turned and gave her a small, crooked smile and another nod. “Pleasure to meet you, love.”

“Not your love,” she replied, arching her eyebrow as she glanced up at him over the rim of her glasses.

Killian’s tongue played at the corner of his mouth as he waggled his own brows in return and tried to keep his own smile from broadening. “You and Belle are going to get on just fine,” he said before ducking into the apartment.


End file.
